Evan Xiang

Scholar, leader, athlete. Senior Evan Xiang juggles it all, managing to balance her roles as co-Editor-in-Chief of the yearbook (PEAN), member of the Exeter squash team, co-head of the competitive Chess Club and Children’s Coordinator for the Exeter Social Service Organization (ESSO).

Xiang’s ability to balance these roles with ease is rooted in her love for what she does—whether it’s teaching local children how to play chess, editing the layout of PEAN on a Friday night or traveling to matches with the squash team in the winter. “I always find myself challenging myself to do more,” she explained. Even when her many commitments can, at times, feel stressful in the face of school work and college applications, Xiang emphasized that her enjoyment in what she does makes it worthwhile. “You need to enjoy the things you do or else it will just feel like meaningless work,” she said.

Of her many interests, chess has proven the most “meaningful and valuable.” Since she first started playing in kindergarten, Xiang has nurtured a passion for the game, but her school never offered a club in which she could formally play and compete with others who shared her interest. This changed when she arrived at Exeter; following in the footsteps of her older sister Ellen ’15, who had helped to restart Chess Club several years earlier, the younger Xiang joined because she “thought it would be cool to play with people who also loved chess.” Soon, she was attending the Saturday-night meetings on a regular basis and, as she grew closer with the other members, came to discover a sense of community within the club.

"I sense younger students see her as the reliable older sister, the one who is busy with her own pursuits but always there when they need her, for anything."

“Walking into the music building on Saturday nights and seeing people already playing games, or walking into Grill during the week and seeing people just sitting there playing chess ... there’s this great feeling of community among all of us [Chess Club members],” Xiang mused. Since joining, Xiang has become co-head and helped bring the club to the high school nationals, where they placed seventh the first year and sixth the second year. “Compared to previous years when we didn’t go to any tournaments, this is really great and I hope we can continue our strong standing,” she said.

For senior Richard Chen, Xiang’s warm and inviting presence in Chess Club helped him adjust to Exeter as a new lower. “As a co-head of Chess Club, she not only tries to encourage old players to get better, she welcomes new players,” he explained. Chen praised her ability to teach game strategies and help members improve their skills, while “taking the time to get to know and help everyone.” He described her as “bubbly,” but also “serious when she needs to be.”

Xiang’s willingness to offer her help to others and lead by example extends to her role in ESSO as well. Inspired by the work she did teaching refugee children how to play chess back in middle school, Xiang joined ESSO Chess as a way to “get out of the Exeter bubble” and share her knowledge with local kids. According to Community Service Coordinator Elizabeth Reyes, Xiang “takes her responsibilities seriously and truly cares about the community children she dedicates her time and energy to help.”

Xiang, who began as an ESSO children’s club co-head and was appointed to the ESSO Board as a Children’s Coordinator last year, helps keep the ESSO Board on task and offers her organizational skills to better set up systems to run the clubs and program, according to Reyes.

“She follows through on tasks assigned and knows to ask questions if clarification is needed,” Reyes said. She went on to describe Xiang as “a conscientious caring student who does not shy away from her role as a Coordinator.”

Senior Meghan Chou, a close friend of Xiang’s, echoed this praise, and added that Xiang is both determined and reliable. “She is able to think with a very clear head in tight situations,” Chou explained, “and she thinks ahead, plans well. She uses her chess skills in real life.”

For Xiang, playing chess certainly has taught her skills that have carried over to the way she leads her life. Observing the many life lessons she has learned from the game, Xiang listed “thinking on your feet” and “having plans but being able to adjust yourself based on how your opponent reacts.” She went on, saying “in life, you don’t know what’s actually going to happen, you can plan all you want but life will always do something to it and you need to be able to get back up, adjust yourself and continue.” Similarly, “you don’t give up in chess,” Xiang explained. “You always keep going.”

Xiang also found these philosophies to hold true in squash. “You have to plan where you’re going to put the ball and that makes me think of how you plan out your moves in chess,” she explained. Though Xiang had played tennis prior to coming to Exeter, she found squash a better alternative “because [she] didn’t have to play outside.” Since joining the team as a prep, she has grown to love the physical components of the sport. “You have to be fast, you have to be strong, your strokes need to be good,” she said. However, she felt that both squash and tennis “carry the same mentality.”

Lower Chandler Jean-Jacques described Xiang as a positive and encouraging member of the squash team. “During practice, she made all of us new kids feel welcome on the team and I really appreciated that,” she said.

Similarly, Xiang’s adviser and English instructor Patricia Burke-Hickey, described Xiang as “a loyal, trustworthy friend to students in the dorm.” She went on to say “I sense younger students see her as the reliable older sister, the one who is busy with her own pursuits but always there when they need her, for anything.” According to Burke-Hickey, Xiang’s smile says it all: Her kindness is genuine.